Data breach incident management and recovery

City of Las Vegas masters cyber incident response with Darktrace

The high-rolling city of Las Vegas experiences unique cyber security challenges rarely seen elsewhere. CIO Mike Sherwood reveals how he turned to Darktrace to help address incidents quicker and with confidence Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sony alleged victim of new extortion gang

A little-known threat actor claims it has breached IT systems and networks at electronics and entertainment giant Sony, and is threatening to release the organisation’s data unless paid off Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cover-ups still the norm in the wake of a cyber incident

Almost half of organisations that have experienced a cyber incident did not report it to the appropriate authorities, according to a report Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Crest and IASME to deliver upcoming NCSC Cyber Exercise programme

Crest and IASME have been tasked with assuring that security services providers signing up to a soon-to-launch NCSC Cyber Incident Exercising scheme are up to the job Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Top’ ransomware gangs favour smaller businesses

Despite high-profile attacks on prominent organisations, the world’s most prolific ransomware operations tend to target smaller businesses Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Organisations failing to proactively address insider cyber risk

Organisations are spending less than 10% of their annual security budgets on trying to solve one of the costliest problems in cyber: insider risk Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Okta confirms link to cyber attacks on Las Vegas casinos

Okta CISO David Bradbury confirms widespread speculation about the high-profile cyber attacks on two Las Vegas casino operators, revealing that the threat actors responsible had indeed abused its services as they earlier claimed Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

38TB Microsoft data leak highlights risks of oversharing

An accidentally disclosed SAS token with excessive privileges enabled researchers to access nearly 40TB of Microsoft’s data, highlighting the risks of privilege mismanagement and oversharing Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Government seeks industry views on cyber threat to UK CNI

The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is seeking evidence from the cyber sector as it launches an inquiry into the resilience of the UK's critical national infrastructure Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Las Vegas mainstay Caesars Palace likely paid off ransomware crew

Caesars Entertainment, owner of the lavish Roman Empire-themed Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas, has revealed it also suffered a ransomware attack, and appears to have paid off its hackers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Manchester police data breach a classic supply chain incident

The developing data breach at Greater Manchester Police follows a cyber attack on the systems of a key supplier of ID services to the force Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Data on over 3,000 Airbus suppliers leaked after breach

An emergent threat actor has leaked details of multiple sensitive Airbus suppliers after claiming to have accessed the firm’s systems having hacked customer Turkish Airlines Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BlackCat on the hook for cyber attack that crippled Vegas casinos

The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware operation claimed responsibility for an attack that forced MGM Resorts to shut down systems at some of Las Vegas’ most popular gambling venues Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Google, Microsoft and Mozilla push browser updates to foil zero-day

A zero-day in Google’s Chrome browser was first reported by surveillance researchers at The Citizen Lab and Apple, but also affects other browsers Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

BianLian ransomware gang holds Save the Children hostage

The dangerous and prolific BianLian ransomware gang claims to have stolen almost 7TB of data from NGO Save the Children, but thankfully the charity’s vital work on the ground appears to be unaffected Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Is it time for ICO to implement the 2016 Cybersecurity Select Committee recommendations?

turn the corporate priority from data breach notification to enabling staff and customers to report attempts at impersonation, whether or not there is evidence of an actual breach.  Such a change ... Continue Reading

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• Philip Virgo, Winsafe Ltd

NCSC and ICO sign MoU to forge deeper collaborative links

The scope of the MoU signed by the NCSC and the ICO includes collaboration on new cyber regulations and guidance, and how to support cyber attack victims appropriately and minimise regulatory penalties Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US casino giant MGM Resorts battles 36-hour outage after cyber attack

Multiple systems at US hotel and casino operator MGM went down in the wake of the incident on 10 September, crippling several of Las Vegas’ most prominent casinos Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Professional ransomware gangs clearly a threat, but attacks can be easily stopped

NCSC and NCA report reveals insight into business models and underpinnings of ransomware gangs and their affiliates, but also urges defenders to take heart, as stopping a ransomware attack is not that hard to do Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Polish election questioned after Pegasus spyware used to smear opposition, investigation finds

Senate committee alerts prosecutors over potential crimes by public officials involved in purchasing Pegasus spyware used to monitor and smear political opponents Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Apple patches Blastpass exploit abused by spyware makers

Apple has patched two vulnerabilities that formed an exploit chain which has been allegedly abused by spyware company NSO Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

North Koreans using new zero-day to target security researchers

A threat actor linked to the North Korean government is continuing a long-running campaign targeting legitimate security researchers, using an as-yet undisclosed zero-day vulnerability to gain access to their victims Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Sensitive NatWest customer files set to be returned after High Court agreement

Sensitive NatWest customer files set to be secured by bank after years in the home of a data breach whistleblower Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

UK and US slap fresh sanctions on Conti ransomware crew

London and Washington DC have imposed sanctions on 11 more members of the cyber criminal gang behind the Conti ransomware attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft finds Storm-0558 exploited crash dump to steal signing key

Microsoft has published new information on how the Chinese state threat actor Storm-0558 was able to exploit a rare race condition following a crash dump in order to acquire a consumer signing key Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Finnish government to bolster spending on cyber-AI defences

Finland’s government will increase spending on cyber security amid heightened threats from artificial intelligence-based attacks Continue Reading

By

• Gerard O'Dwyer

Meet the professional BEC op that targeted Microsoft 365 users for years

The so-called W3LL cyber crime operation ran a phishing empire that has played a large role in compromising Microsoft 365 accounts for years. Its activities are now coming to light thanks to Group-IB researchers Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Law firm Fieldfisher launches data breach management tool

UK and European data breach law specialist Fieldfisher has enlisted legal tech specialist Lawcadia to supply a 24-hour data breach notification assessment platform Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Hacked Electoral Commission failed Cyber Essentials audit

The Electoral Commission failed an NCSC Cyber Essentials audit on multiple counts at about the same time as cyber criminals breached its systems in 2021, it has emerged Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC names ex-NCC man as new CTO

New NCSC CTO Ollie Whitehouse joins from NCC Group, having also worked at BlackBerry and Symantec Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

LockBit ransomware gang allegedly leaks MoD data after hit on supplier

The UK government appears to have become entangled in a LockBit ransomware attack after data was leaked from a third-party supplier online Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Threat actors exploiting unpatched Juniper Networks devices

A series of vulnerabilities in Juniper Networks firewalls and switches appear to be being exploited in the wild to enable remote code execution, with thousands of devices thought to be exposed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

It might be too soon to claim victory against Qakbot

The multinational operation to take down the Qakbot (aka Qbot) malware has been hailed as a great victory, but Lumu Technologies’ Ricardo Villadiego argues that the celebrations may be a little premature Continue Reading

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• Ricardo Villadiego, Lumu Technologies

Sandworm attacks Ukraine with Infamous Chisel malware

The UK and its allies have attributed a novel malware campaign against Ukrainian state targets to the Russian intelligence-backed Sandworm APT Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ducktail social media marketing malware rears its head again

Use of the Ducktail infostealer, which first popped up in 2022 targeting Meta Business accounts, seems to be increasing Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber world hails downfall of Qakbot trojan

A multinational law enforcement hacking operation disrupted the botnet infrastructure used to distribute the Qakbot trojan at the weekend, in a major setback for the cyber criminal underworld Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Zero-day that forced Barracuda users to bin kit was exploited by China

Mandiant has published details of how a Chinese threat actor targeted high-profile users of Barracuda Networks' Email Security Gateway appliances, including government agencies of interest to Beijing's intelligence goals Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Teenage Lapsus$ ringleader was responsible for crime spree, UK court rules

A court has ruled that Arion Kurtaj, allegedly a key player in the Lapsus$ cyber extortion syndicate, was responsible for the group’s year-long campaign of cyber attacks Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

St Helens Council in Merseyside hit by ransomware attack

St Helens Borough Council is investigating a suspected ransomware incident targeting its systems, and is advising residents to be on the alert for follow-on phishing attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber attacks in 2023 develop quicker as average dwell times plummet

The median attacker dwell time shrunk from 10 to eight days in the first seven months of 2023, and in the case of ransomware attacks it is down to just five days Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Singapore to bolster OT security capabilities

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore teams up with Dragos and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to bolster the country’s OT security capabilities Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Clop’s MOVEit attacks drive ransomware volumes to record high

Such has been the scope of Clop’s activity since May that ransomware attack volumes have more than doubled year on year, according to the latest data Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber attack on Aussie energy services firm may hit UK CNI

Energy One, an Australia-based supplier of tech services to the energy sector, is investigating the possibility that some UK customers may have been caught up in an ongoing cyber attack on its systems Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NatWest customer calls bank’s handling of breach of his data ‘disgusting’

A second NatWest customer has contacted Computer Weekly after finding out from a whistleblower that his sensitive personal data has been in her home for 14 years Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

NCSC expands Cyber Incident Response service more widely

The NCSC has added a level to its CIR programme to enable more cyber attack victims to take advantage of the service, which offers access to assured incident response specialists Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Norfolk and Suffolk police hit by FoI-linked data breach

Latest UK police data breach relates to crime suspects, victims and witnesses across East Anglia, and comes just days after a similar incident at the Northern Irish service Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Online safety message failing to get through to women

The security community could be doing a lot more to make its advice and guidance more accessible to women, according to a study Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

US Cyber Board to probe cloud security after latest Exchange hack

CSRB review of cloud security comes in the wake of a major Chinese cyber attack on US government bodies orchestrated through Microsoft’s cloud services Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

PSNI investigating second breach after laptop stolen

Just hours after accidentally disclosing the personal details of 10,000 personnel, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has notified a second data breach after a police issue laptop and documents were stolen from a parked car Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Northern Irish police expose staff data in botched FoI response

Human error is being blamed for the leak of personally identifiable information on all serving officers and civilian staff at the Police Service of Northern Ireland Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

UK voter data hacked in cyber attack on election watchdog

An unknown threat actor who attacked the UK’s Electoral Commission had access to data on millions of UK voters for over a year, the watchdog has revealed Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Black Basta, Hive and Royal ransomware gangs may share real-world connection

At Black Hat USA, Sophos X-Ops researchers share data revealing potential connections between three active ransomware crews Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft fixes Azure flaw that was subject of researcher criticism

Microsoft has confirmed a potentially-dangerous flaw in the Azure platform has now been fully fixed, and moved to reassure customers that despite criticism it is committed to responsible disclosure and timely fixes Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Log4Shell, ProxyShell still among most widely exploited flaws

Statistics released by the collective Five Eyes cyber agencies reveals insight into the most exploited vulnerabilities of 2022, and unsurprisingly there are some old ‘friends’ on the list Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Scottish NHS trust ducks fine after staff shared patient data via WhatsApp

NHS Lanarkshire has been issued a formal reprimand by the ICO after staff members used WhatsApp to share patients’ personal data with one another Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cozy Bear hijacks SME Microsoft 365 tenants in latest campaign

Microsoft shares intelligence on a newly observed Cozy Bear campaign that saw the APT take over genuine Microsoft 365 tenants and subvert them to try to phish its victims Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft attacked over ‘grossly irresponsible’ security practice

The CEO of Tenable has launched a scathing attack on Microsoft, asserting that the organisation is deliberately keeping its Azure cloud customers in the dark about dangerous vulnerabilities and accusing it of a culture of ‘toxic obfuscation’ Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ivanti MDM users told to patch against two dangerous flaws

Users of Ivanti’s mobile device management platform have been warned to act now to patch two vulnerabilities that were chained by a threat actor in a series of cyber attacks on the Norwegian government Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AI has a place in cyber, but needs effective evaluation

Organisations that don’t leverage AI-based security solutions will find themselves more vulnerable than those that do., but cyber pros still need to ensure they can effectively evaluate AI-enhanced tech to ensure it meets their use case Continue Reading

By

• Jack Chapman

Scottish university hit by Rhysida ransomware gang

Data allegedly stolen from the University of Western Scotland has been put up for sale on the dark web by a ransomware gang going by the name Rhysida Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

How Indian organisations are keeping pace with cyber security

Indian organisations are shoring up their defences to improve their cyber resilience amid intensifying cyber threats targeted at key sectors such as healthcare and logistics Continue Reading

By

• Pratima Harigunani

Cyber criminals pivot away from ransomware encryption

Cyber breaches that saw data theft and extortion without an encryption or ransomware component account for more and more incidents, in a possible indication that ransomware gangs are changing up their business models Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

AI-enhanced cyber has potential, but watch out for marketing hype

As AI is a hot topic right now, it is no surprise there are some cyber solutions coming to market that have been thrown together in haste, but that said, genuine AI-powered security products do exist and their abilities could yet prove transformative. Continue Reading

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• Shailendra Parihar, Turnkey Consulting

US cyber breach reporting rules to have global impact

Organisations that operate as Foreign Private Issuers in the US will have to get to grips with strict new cyber breach reporting regulations handed down by the SEC in Washington Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber attack on IT supplier hits two major ambulance trusts

Ambulance trusts serving millions across southern England have been hamstrung for the past week after a cyber attack took down their hosted patient records system Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cisco, BT and others launch network security coalition

Network Resilience Coalition focuses on bringing together global expertise to improve data and network security Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Tetra radio users’ comms may have been exposed for years

A number of flaws in the encryption algorithms used in the secure Tetra radio communications standard have potentially left users exposed to snooping Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

CIO interview: Sean Green, University of East Anglia

In his role as director of digital and data at the University of East Anglia, Sean Green provides high-performance computing to researchers and manages the diverse needs of a campus with the characteristics of a small town, all while finding the time to study one of his passions Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Citrix NetScaler users told to patch new zero-day urgently

A vulnerability disclosed and patched last week by Citrix appears to be being exploited by China-backed threat actors as a zero-day, prompting warnings from government cyber bodies Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Security AI and automation may reduce cost of data breaches

Organisations that go all in on security AI and automation tend to incur lower financial costs when they experience a data breach incident, according to an IBM report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Why cyber security should be part of your ESG strategy

The impact of data breaches and cyber threats on businesses, societies and the environment makes cyber security a key consideration in an environment, social and governance strategy Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Future Cyber Threats: The four ‘horsemen of the apocalypse’

How to deal with emerging security threats from deep fake humans to the end of secure encryption  Continue Reading

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• Jim Tiller, CISO, Nash Squared

How the DSMA balances security and privacy with press freedom

In a world of information sharing and 24-hour news cycles, the Defence and Security Media Advisory committee have to balance national security and data privacy with freedom of the press Continue Reading

By

• Peter Ray Allison

BlackCat and Clop gangs both claim cyber attack on Estée Lauder

Cosmetics conglomerate Estée Lauder is experiencing operational disruption in the wake of a cyber attack that seems to involve two different cyber crime gangs Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Half of cyber pros engage in risky behaviour at work, report claims

Approximately 55% of security professionals say they have engaged in behaviours they would more usually advise against in the workplace, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Microsoft issues new warning over Chinese cyber espionage

A newly uncovered Chinese espionage campaign exploited forged authentication tokens to access its victims’ email accounts, says Microsoft Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

One month after MOVEit: New vulnerabilities found as more victims are named

Five weeks after the mass MOVEit breach, new vulnerabilities in the file transfer tool are coming to light as the Clop cyber crime group continues to terrorise victims. But has the gang bitten off more than it can chew? Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cozy Bear lures victims with used BMW 5 Series

A recent Cozy Bear campaign saw the Russian APT group pivot to exploiting an advert for a used car as it targeted diplomatic missions in Kyiv Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Whistleblower contacts NatWest customers affected by a decade-old data breach

Former worker says contacting the people affected by the data breach is her last resort after the bank and regulators appear satisfied that the sensitive data file is safe stored under her bed Continue Reading

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• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

Over half of ANZ organisations hit by ransomware

Amid the rising ransomware threat, almost four in five organisations in ANZ expect to pay a ransom if they could recover data and business processes Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

BlackCat gang claims cyber attack on Barts NHS Trust

Investigations continue into a claim by the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang that it has stolen 7TB of data from Barts NHS Trust in London Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NHS data stolen in Manchester Uni ransomware attack

The ransomware gang behind the cyber attack on the University of Manchester appears to have got its hands on an NHS dataset being used by the university for research purposes Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

‘Shadow’ AI use becoming a driver of insider cyber risk

Off-the-books use of generative AI tools will inevitably lead to a costly, high-profile data breach for someone, but a little attention paid to appropriate data management policy can help mitigate the risk Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

A tenth of kids claim they could hack you

More and more young people are at risk of being drawn into cyber criminality, and parents must shoulder some of the blame, according to a report Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

ICO under fire for taking limited action over serious data breaches

The ICO has come under fire from lawyers and data protection specialists for just issuing written warnings to two public bodies over serious data breaches that placed people’s lives at risk Continue Reading

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• Sebastian Klovig Skelton, Data & ethics editor

Phishing and ransomware dominate Singapore’s cyber threat landscape

Phishing and ransomware attacks continued apace in Singapore last year amid signs of improving cyber hygiene Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Manchester University students threatened by ransomware gang

Students and staff members at the University of Manchester are being pressurised by an unnamed ransomware gang Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nearly quarter of a million malicious websites reported and removed through NCSC service

A suspicious email and text message reporting service in the UK has directly led to a quarter of a million malicious websites being removed Continue Reading

By

• Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA

ChatGPT is creating a legal and compliance headache for business

ChatGPT’s increased use in the workplace has led many to question its legal and compliance implications for businesses. Experts warn that the software poses major security and copyright risks Continue Reading

By

• Nicholas Fearn

Early June Microsoft outages were result of large-scale DDoS hit

Investigations into recent outages on Microsoft Azure and Outlook services have turned up evidence of a massive distributed denial-of-service attack Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Nakivo adds ransomware scanning and new restore options

Backup maker adds malware scanning with big names in security to immutable backup copy functionality. “Tape’s not dead” either, with restore from the venerable medium now possible Continue Reading

By

• Antony Adshead, Storage Editor

UK to contribute up to £25m to Ukraine cyber defences

Prime minister Rishi Sunak announces an expansion to the Ukraine Cyber Programme, with a cash boost of up to £25m over the next two years Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Exploitation of Barracuda ESG appliances linked to Chinese spies

Intelligence from Mandiant links exploitation of a flaw in a subset of Barracuda ESG appliances to a previously untracked China-nexus threat actor Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

NCSC warns over ‘enduring’ LockBit threat

Although its activity volumes have been lower of late, LockBit is still a highly dangerous ransomware gang and is now the subject of a new international cyber advisory Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Clop begins naming alleged MOVEit victims

Clop uploaded details of 12 new victims to its dark web leak site late on 14 June, many of them likely linked to the ongoing MOVEit cyber attack Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ransomware-stricken Capita to run Action Fraud successor

A £50m deal to replace the Action Fraud service has been handed to PwC and Capita, which is facing investigations over its handling of customer data in a ransomware incident Continue Reading

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• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Clop’s MOVEit ransom deadline expires

A seven-day deadline set by Clop for victims of its latest attack to contact it to arrange payment passes today Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Cyber attacks against APAC commerce sector surpass 1.1 billion

Retailers, hotels and travel-related organisations in the region saw over a billion cyber attacks last year amid the surge in e-commerce activity and online travel bookings Continue Reading

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• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Arnold Clark data leak victims prepare legal action

More than 10,000 people who had their data stolen and leaked in a ransomware attack on the Arnold Clark car dealer network have signed up to a group legal action after facing elevated amounts of fraud Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Ofcom data stolen in MOVEit cyber attack

Communications regulator Ofcom says data on employees and regulated communications companies was stolen by the Clop gang Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor